ARC Review: Shine (Shine #1) by Jessica Jung
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Series: Shine #1
Author: Jessica Jung
Published October 15th 2020 by Electric Monkey
Goodreads Synopsis
Crazy Rich Asians meets Gossip Girl by way of Jenny Han in this knock-out debut about a Korean American teen who is thrust into the competitive, technicolor world of K-pop, from Jessica Jung, K-pop legend and former lead singer of one of the most influential K-pop girl groups of all time, Girls Generation.
What would you sacrifice for a chance to live your dreams?
For seventeen-year-old Korean American Rachel Kim, the answer is almost everything. Or at least that’s been the answer for the past six years, ever since she was recruited by DB Entertainment—one of Seoul’s largest K-pop labels, known for churning out the industry’s most popular stars.
The rules are simple: Train 24/7. Be perfect. Don’t date. So while Rachel and her fellow trainees face grueling practices, punishing expectations, and ruthless competition, they know it’s worth it for the chance to debut in DB’s newest girl group.
And when the opportunity to sing with K-pop star and DB golden boy Jason Lee arises, Rachel knows this is her chance to get noticed. To finally debut. The only problem? Jason is charming, sexy, and ridiculously talented—he’s exactly the kind of distraction Rachel can’t afford to have. And exactly the kind she can’t stay away from.
Get ready as Jessica Jung, K-pop legend and former lead singer of Korea’s most famous girl group, Girls Generation, takes us inside the twisted, technicolor world of K-pop. Where following your dreams might just mean living through a nightmare. Where the stakes are high, but for one girl, the cost of success might be even higher.
It’s time for the world to see: this is what it takes to SHINE.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.
The stylish and fabulous world of K-Pop is explore in Shine. 16 year old Rachel Kim has always embraced her Korean heritage, and adored K-Pop, so when she was discovered singing in a market at 11, and recruited to the exclusive DB Entertainment trainee programme, it was like a dream come true. However, it's not all glamour and fun. Life as a trainee is really difficult, with the rules about what you wear, what you eat, and above all, you are never to date. Rachel struggles to balance her school life with her life as a trainee, and worries that because of her camera shyness, she might be cut from the programme. When she meets DB golden boy, Jason Lee, everything seems to fall into place. They have such a chemistry that is apparent when they sing together, and she offered the chance to debut alongside him, as well as fellow trainee, Choo Mina, who just happens to be Rachel's arch-nemesis. Will Rachel be able to keep her head, and not let Jason become a distraction that could kill her career before it even starts, and can she trust Mina not to stab her in the back when the time is right.
I will admit, I know basically nothing about K-Pop. My timeline has a lot of people talking about different groups, so I have heard of some of them, but I've never really listened to any or got the hype. However, even as someone not a fan of K-Pop, I adored this book! Rachel was such a relatable character - not counting the whole fame aspect - and I loved her growth from where she was in the first chapter, to her position as this story ended. Her shyness, and somewhat, outsider syndrome was something that really affected her at first, but we saw her realise that she really needed to fight for her chance to be a star, and not to take what others did lying down, especially Mina. Another thing that was fantastic, was how the first and final chapters were neigh on identical, and we saw the plot go full circle.
The romance between Jason and Rachel was cute, and swoony. I loved how both of them had a sense of shared history, spending the majority of their childhood in other countries (Canada and America), so were somewhat outsiders in Korea. I hated the angst that inevitably occurred, and really hope we see a lot more of this couple in book 2, Bright. I definitely can't wait for the sequel, and knowing it's more than a year away is heartbreaking! A fantastic debut, and I look forward to more from Jessica!
Dates Read:
June 27-29, 2020
Rating
4 Stars
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